Barron Bucket List

Houston Bucket List

Living inside the loop and working downtown has allowed me to spend a lot of time in Houston and experience many of the great things this city has to offer! If you’re looking for something fun to do or a new restaurant to try, I’ve done the work for you and compiled a list of our favorites!

Experiences:

Places to Eat:

Coffee Shops:

Great Views:

  • Buffalo Bayou Brewing Co (this could also fall under places to eat, but there is an awesome view of downtown from the 3rd floor in the brewery!)
  • Buffalo Bayou Park also shows a great skyline view of downtown. Map to Houston Police Officers’ Memorial – this is a great area to walk your dog, ride your bike, or go for a run. 

Orlando, Florida

February 2016

The happiest place on earth!!! During this trip we visited the Disney World theme parks: Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Epcot, and then we also went to Universal Studios! It was a lot to fit in to one trip but there is so much to do and see. Even though it rained on us a bit at Universal, we still had an absolute blast!

Disney’s Magic Kingdom

Of course there are lots of fun rides but some of my favorites, that I remember, were the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the Tomorrowland Transit. The last one is a neat way to ride around and see all of the attractions in the Tomorrowland section. If you have young kids, you can search the rides on their website to filter height requirements and thrill level to map out which rides you want to visit (saves you from having to sort through it all at the park). If you’re a couple of 20-somethings that want to relive your childhood (like us) well then ride them all, my friend. And get the FastPass!

Epcot

If you aren’t familiar with Epcot, it is basically a huge theme park in the shape of a circle that showcases 11 countries: the US, Norway, Germany, the UK, Italy, France, Mexico, China, Japan, Morocco, and Canada. Outside of the US, I had visited 5 of these countries with my family prior to our Disney trip and it was really neat to see how the different cultures were highlighted, especially with the food they served at each.

Hollywood Studios

Our favorite ride at Hollywood Studios was Star Wars!

We were SO excited to be at Universal and have good weather for the first half of the day!

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!

I’d like to say that we’re BOTH Harry Potter geeks but Matt will tell you that because I haven’t read the books, I am not. Fair. I loved the movies though.

We stayed at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center (above) in Kissimmee, FL. I’ve been impressed by every Gaylord hotel I’ve stayed at and they all seem pretty consistent, so I don’t think you can go wrong here.

My favorite photo of Matt & I on this trip!

I’ll embed the links so you can research the theme parks, attractions, and entertainment to plan your next trip to Disney or Universal!

Cheers!

M+M

Napa Valley, California

For our one year dating anniversary, Matt and I went to California to explore San Fran and Napa Valley! We stayed at the Clift Royal Sonesta Hotel in Union Square during our time in San Francisco. It was a beautiful (also affordable) 4-star hotel and a really great location.

There are so many things to do and see! One of the highlights for me was this tiny, hole-in-the-wall place in Chinatown called House of Xian Dumpling and they have the absolute BEST chicken fried rice I have ever had in my life!! Seriously go check it out if you go to SF. The first time I went, locals told us about it and they did not disappoint! We also typically stop by Fisherman’s Wharf and grab lunch at Pier 39. Pier Market is a really yummy restaurant there with great views and you’ll usually get to see seals on the docks close by!

Napa Valley!!!

Ah, I could never get tired of this area. Here are some of our favorite wineries that we visited:

Domaine Carneros
Auberge du Soleil
Artesa
Peju
Domaine Chandon
This was at a cute little restaurant called R+D Kitchen in Yountville that we went to for dinner with some friends and, of course, tried more wine.

Cheers!

M+M

Lake Charles, Louisiana

July 2015

For my 25th birthday, Matt took me to Lake Charles for a fun getaway! We stayed at the Isle of Capri Casino Hotel but also visited L’Auberge just down the street. Both amazing hotels!

I’m not much of a gambler and had never spent a lot of time in a casino before this trip, but I had so much fun on the slot machines and watched Matt win a few times on the Black Jack table. Somehow he’s pretty lucky when it comes to these things. I’ll play a few rounds with a couple dollars but I’m way too nervous to ever gamble with larger monies. (I can’t handle throwing it away in 3 seconds when you do lose.) … didn’t mind the free drinks they keep in your hand while you play though!

I loved the beachy bar scene outside. It was such a nice night with a beautiful sunset (favorite thing in the world) and enjoyed getting to spend some quality time together. You can visit the Isle of Capri Casino Hotel website here and the L’Auberge Casino & Resort site here.

Cheers!

M+M

Pagosa Springs, Colorado

March 2015

This was the first trip we went on together!

We rented this beautiful house with a group of Matt’s friends. It was perfect for all 9 of us, in a great location and had an amazing view!

We love Caitlin and Quinton!! This was one of the first times I met them both, through Matt, and immediately clicked with Caitlin. She is now one of my best friends and they are both in our wedding!

We skied at Wolf Creek, which is the first ski area in the US to run purely on solar energy!

You can visit the Wolf Creek Ski website here.

We would definitely go back and ski here again!!

Cheers!

M+M